ICT executives on the move and in the news

Stephen Crombie is now the deputy chief executive at the Ministry of Social Development, following more than two years as CEO at Education Payroll Ltd. Before this, Crombie was 2IC strategy and executive director; information, technology and systems at NZ Police.

Stephen Crombie at a CIO roundtable discussion in Wellington

Andrew Goodin steps up from global manager information systems to acting chief digital officer at Zespri International, while the company is recruiting for the new executive role.

Jason MacDonald moves to Dunedin City Council as digital services manager. Before this, he was IS manager, faculty of engineering at the University of Auckland.

Jason MacDonald

Brett O’Riley joins the board of Wine Grenade. Wine Grenade commercialises IP from New Zealand’s Plant & Food Research in a connected device which allows winemakers to cost effectively replicate the traditional oak barrel ageing process by delivering precise amounts of oxygen through a permeable membrane - a process known as micro-oxygenation.

Riley was most recently CEO of Auckland’s economic growth agency ATEED for five years, and was previously deputy chief executive, business innovation and investments for the Ministry of Science and Innovation, and founding CEO of the NZICT Group (now called NZ Tech).

Garry Johnston joins Vodafone as business design and delivery manager at Vodafone. His previous roles include group chief executive at Vo2 Digital Thinking and executive director of information technology at Te Wānanga o Aotearoa.

This is the best line-up of international judges ever assembled to evaluate and judge the Hi-Tech Awards, says Jennifer Rutherford, chair of the Hi-Tech Trust. “These world class business leaders are busy people and it’s very encouraging that they are giving their own time to judge the awards. Their interest in New Zealand, our tech sector and the Awards is just amazing and a great reflection of the achievements of our tech companies on the global stage.”

Adam Dodds, former research director channel strategies, alliances and brokerage at IDC NZ, is now the general manager of Brave New Coin.

Adam Dodds

Hamish McNee, Matt Simpson and Daniel Larsen are now part of Microsoft’s specialist ISV Team, joining Ryan Tarak, senior partner development manager. “With a strong focus on Cloud, our new ISV team sees us continue to build a unique partner ecosystem that best meets the needs of New Zealand enterprises in all stages of digital transformation,” says Phil Goldie, partner director at Microsoft.

Hamish McNee, Microsoft partner development manager, was most recently senior director of worldwide channels at Silicon Valley SaaS company Workspot.

Matt Simpson, technical evangelist has been working at Microsoft as a cloud solution architect for the past two years.

Daniel Larsen, senior technical evangelist, has also held software engineering and technology leadership roles with several New Zealand ISVs including Serato, Fraedom and Coretexa.

Mel MacPhee, head of human resources at Cigna says the company has joined a growing group of New Zealand businesses offering a safe and welcoming workplace for people of diverse gender and sexual orientation, as recognised by its achieving the Rainbow Tick accreditation.

“Gaining this accreditation recognises our commitment to fostering a psychologically safe environment where you can be yourself and individual differences are valued,” says McPhee. The programme includes an annual audit to evaluate the business’s level of LGBTTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, takatāpui and intersex) inclusion in internal policies and staff training, among others.

“Studies show that about one third of LGBTTI employees hide who they are at work and one in four have heard negative comments such as ‘that’s so gay’ while at work,” says Rainbow Tick director Michael Stevens. “We spend a third of our lives at work so it’s really important for the wellbeing of this community that people feel comfortable being themselves at work.”

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